Acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine together complete Traditional Chinese Medicine. Chinese herbology comes in many forms: roots, rhizomes, leaves, twigs, fruits, animal products, shells (and more). Many of these herbs are common spices and super foods, some of which you may recognize such as ginger, ginseng, astragalus root, goji berries, milk thistle, dandelion root, cardamom and turmeric. By combining these individual herbs or super foods, a unique and synergistic Chinese Herbal Formula is created tailoring your individual needs. This combination increases the effectiveness of a particular formula as well as minimizes any harmful side effects.
Many forms of Chinese Herbal Medicine are available ranging from raw herbs such as those seen in Chinatown or Richmond herbal shops, granules or powders, pills or tablets and liquid extracts or tinctures. Depending on your condition, taste capacity, time for preparation and convenience factor will depend on what type of herbal supplement best matches you.
Chinese herbal medicine is a safe, effective and drug-free way for health optimization. My love for Chinese herbal medicine not only comes from my Chinese upbringing of drinking soups upon soups upon soups, but re-affirmed during my practicum in Taiwan. There I witnessed a “complete” health care system where a patient was treated with Western medicine prescription drugs, chemotherapy, radiation or dialysis to name a few, alongside with getting Acupuncture treatments and receiving Chinese herbal infusions or oral liquid decoctions. Not only did this help expedite one’s recovery, it also kept in check one’s side effects of a certain disease / illness such as pain management.
